


These Walls Have Ears

by notverystraight



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abuse of italics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Disney Movies, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Face Masks, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Flustered Keith (Voltron), Flustered Lance (Voltron), Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), Getting Together, Kissing, Lance (Voltron) is a Dork, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Out, Movie Night, Multi, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Keith (Voltron), Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Shenanigans, Sleepovers, Swearing, Teasing, but it's just the boys being stupid, the tiniest smidge of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:54:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26653261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notverystraight/pseuds/notverystraight
Summary: Before Lance’s friends arrive at his apartment for their weekly movie night, Keith is in Hunk’s car on the phone to Lance, trying to explain why they’re late, again.Mid conversation, Keith drops his phone under the seat. Assuming Lance has hung up, Pidge and Hunk start pestering Keith about certain feelings that he may be harboring, leading to some quite personal confessions.Little do they know, Lance has not hung up, and is listening in on every word. Shenanigans ensue.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Minor Hunk/Shay - Relationship, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 554





	These Walls Have Ears

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me when we were on the phone to someone in the car and the phone fell under the seat, and I assumed they hung up… but what if they didn’t?
> 
> I actually meant for this to be like 2k long, but I guess I got carried away with the idea of a movie night lmao. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I know basically nothing about Star Wars or America, all that I know is that Empire Strikes Back was apparently the best movie, and that Americans go to high school and then college at some point.
> 
> Anyways *throws this fic at you* just take it

“Hey guys, where the fuck are you?” Lance had his phone wedged between his shoulder and his ear, since his hands were currently engaged with thoroughly button mashing on a game of Mario Kart (which was a perfectly logical and valid way of playing, Pidge, shut it). Dammit. How was he in last place?

_“We’re on our way,”_ Keith’s voice was saying through the phone, _“We got held up ‘cause Pidge lost her glasses.”_

“Seriously? She doesn’t even need those!”

_“Yes I do,”_ Pidge’s voice piped up, slightly fainter than Keith’s, presumably from the shotgun seat of Hunk’s car, _“Not having them ruins my aesthetic.”_

Lance rolled his eyes. Was there ever a time that his friends would _not_ be late for their Saturday movie night? He’d been waiting for around an hour already, sitting cross-legged on the floor and playing through various video games to pass the time. The floor around him was littered with packets of unopened snacks, and it had taken him every ounce of self-control to try and wait until his friends arrived to start eating. Eventually, he’d given in to the urge, hence the Dorito crumbs now sprinkled over his grey sweatpants and the two empty packets thrown in the corner.

“Whatever, just hurry the fuck up, the Cheetos are getting cold,” he reprimanded around another mouthful of Doritos.

_“That doesn’t even make sense.”_ He could practically see Keith’s deadpan expression, one thick eyebrow cocked, half hidden behind the dark bangs that cast shadows across his porcelain skin and those intense obsidian eyes, almost violet in the sunlight, and –

Wait, where was he going with this again?

Face flushed, he quickly swallowed his half-chewed Doritos, almost choking in the process, and fumbled for a response.

“H-hey, at least– At least I don’t have a mullet –”

_“We’ll be there in five, Lance,”_ Hunk cut him off, probably saving him from embarrassment.

Lance sighed internally, momentarily losing focus on his videogame to just run his fingers through his hair in exasperation. He thought he had his crush on Keith under control, but apparently not. The smallest action from Keith could turn Lance into a blustering mess in a matter of seconds. He silently thanked Hunk for his good instincts; despite being the nosiest bitch Lance had ever met, he could keep a secret surprisingly well, and was the only person Lance could trust with this.

_“Anyway,”_ Hunk added, his voice taking on a sly undertone, _“I’m sure Keith is dying to see you.”_ Wait, what? Lance almost sent his kart flying off the track.

_“Huh??”_ Lance changed his mind. Hunk was terrible, the absolute worst friend ever.

Keith stammered _“Wh- what do you- Why me?!”_

_“I mean,”_ Pidge’s voice joined in, louder this time – she’d probably stolen Keith’s phone. _“I can think of a few reasons –”_

Suddenly, there was a loud clattering noise on the other end, so startling that Lance ended up fumbling with the controller, his phone on his shoulder slipping and landing with a dull _thunk_ on the carpet.

“Shit,” he muttered as his kart flew off the track – for real this time. He abandoned all hope of completing the race in anything other than last place and turned his attention to his phone. Apparently the call was still connected as he could hear his friends arguing on the other end.

_“Shit- Pidge, what the fuck –”_

_“What happened?”_

_“My phone is under the fucking seat –”_

_“Whose fault is that!?”_

_“Can you reach it?”_

_“No, it’s too far under. Lance can you hear us?”_

“Yeah, yeah, I’m here,” Lance answered, inspecting his phone for any lasting damage. Eh. Still works.

_“Hello? Lance, are you there?”_

“I’m here,” he repeated.

_“I think you hung up on him. I can’t hear him.”_

Huh. Maybe he really had damaged something. Or maybe the connection was just fucked up. He could still hear his friends talking on the other end.

_“Keith, stop, we’ll just find it when we get there,”_ Hunk assured him, _“Lance has obviously hung up already. Sit back down.”_

Lance wondered vaguely why he was still listening. But, well, his friends’ conversations tended to be interesting, and he had nothing better to do while he waited.

He heard Keith huff as he sat back down in his seat. _“Pidge, if you broke my phone, I swear –“_

_“Me? It’s not my fault you smacked it out of my hand!”_

_“What did you expect?! You were about to –“_

_“Guys,”_ Hunk broke in, ever the peacekeeper. _“Now isn’t the time.”_

_“Yeah, well, this wouldn’t have happened if Keith hadn’t been so busy obsessing over Lance.”_ Lance felt his cheeks flush bright red again. What the hell was Pidge playing at?

_“Shut the fuck up, Pidge. I don’t know why I trust you with anything. I’m serious.”_ Keith actually sounded… pissed off? Lance was so confused.

_“Hey, chill, I was just joking.”_

_“This isn’t a joke to me.”_

Lance had lost the plot at this point. Were they still talking about Lance? Did Keith know about his feelings? The very idea made his stomach swirl like crazy.

Hunk spoke up. _“We don’t mean it Keith. We’re just trying to help you. If you like Lance, you need to make a move, man!”_ Lance’s heart stopped.

_“Exactly!”_ Pidge piped up excitedly, _“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him! Literally everyone knows that Keith is crushing on Lance, except Lance himself. It’s completely ridiculous.”_

Lance.exe has stopped working. The words “Keith is crushing on Lance” and “make a move” were swirling around in his head, refusing to compute.

Meanwhile, both Hunk and Pidge were both babbling about Keith’s love life on the other end. Keith let out a muffled groan; he’d probably buried his face in his hands.

_“Guys,”_ Keith cut in, _“Even if I did anything, there’s no way any good will come from it. He literally flirts with every girl he sees –”_

_“Oh come on, Keith, not this girl shit again, we’ve told you, he’s bisexual –”_ And ok, how dare his friends disclose his sexuality without asking? Not that it was anything he was hiding – he was pretty out of the closet anyway, and was surprised Keith hadn’t already known – but still!

_“I know, I know, you’ve told me that. That’s not the point.”_

_“Then what is?”_

Silence. Lance was actually holding his breath as he waited for Keith’s answer.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Keith spoke.

_“He just… he could have anyone,”_ Keith’s voice had gone impossibly soft. _“He has everything. People love him. He has so many options. He wouldn’t settle for someone like me – doesn’t even really like being friends with me.”_ Lance couldn’t breathe. Was that really what Keith thought?

He heard Keith give a small sigh. _“I just don’t want to ruin what we have now. I like being his friend. There’s no way he’ll respond in the way that I want, so what’s the point?”_ Keith sounded so defeated. Lance didn’t know if he wanted to give the boy a hug or maybe slap some sense into him. How could he think Lance didn’t want him? How could he not want him?

Well, ok, maybe it wasn’t entirely Keith’s fault that he thought this way. Keith had generally struggled a lot in the past with the idea of trust and letting people in. Also, Lance hadn’t exactly been nice to him when they’d first met, making up their stupid rivalry and refusing to have a single civil conversation with him. It was only recently that they’d managed to become close, and even so, they still bickered like children a lot of the time.

_“Keith…”_ Hunk spoke up softly, _“You don’t know that. Who’s to say that Lance doesn’t feel the same way?”_

_“Yeah,”_ Pidge added, _“And even if you’re right, you could never ruin things with Lance. Don’t try and give me that ‘rivalry’ crap, either. Lance loves being friends with you. Besides, he’s not that kind of guy – he’d treat you just the same.”_

Hunk chuckled. _“But, I have a feeling you won’t need to worry about that. What do you say, Keith? You’ll never know, if you don’t try.”_

A disbelieving smile was forming on Lance’s face. He’s always been insecure about his crush on Keith, always felt as if he were something unattainable, a hopeless daydream that would never be captured. But here Keith was, spilling the exact same insecurities about _Lance_.

He heard Keith murmur something unintelligible and skeptical on the other end, but it was then that he realized he’d probably invaded his friend’s privacy enough.

Quickly, he hung up before he could hear anything else personal, then he tossed his phone to the side and flopped onto his back where he had still been sat on the floor. Gazing up at the ceiling, he tried to process everything that had just happened.

So. Keith liked him back.

Yup. Ok. Definitely not a life changing revelation. He totally wasn’t fighting back squeals of childish happiness. He was totally fine, totally chill, cool as a cucumber…

Ok, who was he kidding?

His long-time crush, Keith Kogane, had just admitted that he was equally as smitten with Lance as Lance was with him. Of course he was absolutely fucking ecstatic.

He grabbed a pillow from the sofa beside him and allowed himself a moment to squeal his joy into it like a middle schooler.

He couldn’t stop grinning, and he was probably blushing like a tomato right now, but he didn’t care because _Keith liked him back_. He wanted to run to his open window and shout it for the whole world to hear.

He controlled his impulse however, because he had some very important things to think about.

Because now that he knew, the question was… what was Lance going to do about it?

Lance started to register that Keith had no idea that he’d been listening in on the phone. The other boy also apparently thought that there was no chance in hell that Lance liked him back, and was probably telling Pidge and Hunk right now why he was literally never going to make a move.

He realized, with a small smirk, that this meant the ball was entirely in his court.

Quickly, Lance picked himself up from the floor, throwing the pillow back onto the sofa, and looked down at himself with a grimace. His clothes were ratty and covered in Dorito dust, and his hair and face were probably a similar mess. Totally _not_ an ideal getup for seducing the boy of his dreams.

_We’ll fix that_ , Lance thought, though he only had about five minutes to do that, so he had to act fast. He rushed to his room.

The apartment where Lance was living was a significantly better living space than most college kids were used to. He could thank his sister, Veronica, for that. She had a kickass high paying job very close to Lance’s college, and had allowed him to stay there with him. He’d be eternally grateful for the private bathroom and lack of a weirdo roommate that she’d blessed him with.

Today, like all Saturdays, she was out on a date with her girlfriend, Acxa, who was also Keith’s cousin. Which meant that Lance was free to scramble around madly as he tried to make himself look presentable for his friends’ arrival, without worrying about the severe judgement of his big sister.

He picked out a pair of shorts that came up to his mid-thigh – Lance knew that he had legs for days, and always made sure to keep them hairless so he could show off his lean calves and golden skin. Today, he was planning on taking full advantage of that fact.

After changing into them and a blue tank top that fitted him nicely, he ran into the bathroom and gave his face a quick wash. He put on some moisturizer, then, following a few seconds of deliberation, applied a bit of cherry-tint balm to his lips.

Back in his room, he gave his hair some brief attention, leaving it appealingly tousled, before admiring his handiwork in the full-length mirror. There. Perfect. He looked like a sexy California beach dude, if they came in slightly scrawny Latino. Lance shot some fingerguns at his reflection with a _very_ sultry grin, if he did say so himself.

Keith better be ready to fucking _swoon_.

And on that note, there was a knock on the front door.

Lance’s grin widened in excitement, then he quickly schooled his expression into something more laid back and gave his reflection a conspiratorial wink, before going to let his friends in.

When Lance opened the door, he was immediately greeted with Hunk and Pidge in the doorway, while Keith hung back a little, leaning against the wall.

It was a little funny how tiny Pidge looked beside Hunk, who stood at six foot one compared to Pidge’s measly height of five foot nothing. Their differences didn’t stop there – where Pidge was all freckles, pale skin and sharp elbows, Hunk was a big guy and had a rich mocha complexion. Despite all of this, the two arguably had the strongest friendship of their group, often bouncing ideas off each other like they could read the other’s mind.

“Jeez, took you guys long enough,” Lance quipped, cocking his hip to the side and eyeing his friends in mock annoyance. Subtly, he glanced at Keith out of the corner of his eye.

He was dressed for the relatively warm weather, in an unbuttoned red flannel, sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms, over a white muscle top. He wore ripped black jeans and red-and-white high-tops. He was inspecting his phone, dark bangs falling over his eyes, probably checking for any damage from when it had been dropped under the seat of Hunk’s car, and hadn’t looked up yet.

“We brought cookies,” Pidge offered, pointing to the bag Hunk was holding.

Lance raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“… Ok, Hunk brought cookies,” she conceded, with an eye-roll.

Hunk raised the bag sheepishly, “Can we come in now?”

Lance narrowed his eyes before sighing loudly. “I suppose that’s good enough.” He stepped aside to let his friends in.

Hunk handed the bag to him and he and Pidge moved past him into the apartment. Lance took it, and as the smell of Hunk’s freshly baked cookies wafted up from inside, he decided the wait was probably worth it. His mouth was already watering from the scent.

Keith pushed off of the wall and glanced up at him for the first time, and Lance didn’t miss the way his eyes raked over Lance’s body, lingering on the exposed skin of his long, smooth legs, the slope of his freckled shoulders, and finally resting on his lightly tinted lips before his gaze snapped up to meet Lance’s eyes. Lance had to suppress a smug smirk at the attention.

Keith only gave him a small nod and a smile in greeting before pocketing his phone and coming through into the hallway. Hunk and Pidge had already gone into the living room, and had probably already hijacked Lance’s TV. As Lance shut the door behind him, Keith toed his shoes off, about to turn and follow their friends.

“Hey, is your phone okay?” Lance asked, just to keep Keith to himself for a few minutes. “We kind of got cut off earlier, and I saw you looking at it, is anything broken?” He kept his tone as innocent as possible, eyes wide and earnest.

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Keith shook his head in dismissal. “Nah, just dropped it under the seat in the car. No big deal, couple scratches, but that’s all.”

“Hmm, who knew you’d be so clumsy, Mullet,” Lance teased, gesturing for the other boy to follow him into the kitchen, which was just to the left of the entrance, so he could put the cookies on a plate.

“Hey, It wasn’t entirely my fault,” Keith objected, smiling slightly as they walked. He hung back, leaning on the kitchen doorframe, while Lance went in and opened a cupboard to grab a large plate, “And who’re you calling clumsy? Remember that time you somehow managed to knock over an _entire fridge_ because you thought you saw a spider on the kitchen table?”

“Ok, it really did look like a spider at the time,” Lance huffed, Keith laughing at the memory. “How was I supposed to know that Nadia left her hair tie here?” he pouted at Keith’s amusement and pushed the cupboard closed with his hip, starting to plate up the cookies.

“No, but seriously, how did your scrawny ass manage to take down a fucking _fridge_?” Keith snorted. “I literally wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it happen.”

“Who’re you calling scrawny?” Lance scoffed, holding up his arm to flex his, admittedly not all that impressive, biceps. “I have a swimmers physique, thank you very much.”

He was half joking, but Lance knew that this wasn’t exactly a lie – he may not be a particularly beefy guy, but his body was quite nice. He was slender, but lean. He didn’t have rock hard abs, but he was in fact a swimmer, and his body definitely reflected that.

And he knew that Keith knew it too, from the way that his eyes had lingered on his form when he’d arrived, from how even now, his eyes flicked subtly over Lance’s long limbs.

All the same, Keith just stared at him for a moment before laughing softly, albeit a little strained, and shaking his head. Lance laughed along with him too, and then picked up the plate of cookies in one hand and came to the doorway where Keith was standing.

He studied Keith’s face. “Hmm, your hair’s getting pretty long, isn’t it?” he commented. It really was – his eyes were almost hidden behind his messy curtain of bangs. Keith shrugged, as if he hadn’t really thought about it.

Trying to make the action seem as subconscious and casual as possible, Lance reached out his free hand to sweep a soft lock of Keith’s long, raven hair from his face, revealing a glimpse of his dark eyes.

Like always, Lance was a little struck by the sight, as the other boy’s eyes always seemed to shift in color depending on the lighting. Sometimes they appeared black as the night sky, while at others, they were a stormy grey, like raging clouds before a storm. Yet, they always held this dark intensity, the kind that made heat pool in Lance’s belly and turned his knees to jelly.

Now, they were a deep indigo, with hints of violet, and breathtaking as they flicked up to meet his gaze in slight surprise. As Lance retracted his hand, he lingered, tracing his finger down from Keith’s jawline to his chin, before pulling back and trying for a playful smirk.

He was rewarded with a slight flush coating Keith’s cheeks, gaze becoming half-lidded as he tracked Lance’s movement. A giddy thrill of triumph washed over Lance, but he didn’t let himself loiter for long. He turned, glancing over his shoulder and beckoning for Keith to follow him, and sauntered away down the corridor toward the living room.

Behind him, Keith remained still for a moment before quickly following after him, and Lance hid his smile.

By the time they came into the room, Pidge and Hunk were already arguing over what Disney movie to watch.

“C’mon, Hunk, you can’t possibly think The Princess and the Frog is better than Moana, seriously?” Pidge was protesting, already draped over Lance’s armchair like she owned the place as she munched on Lance’s snacks. Her fluffy nest of sandy hair was sticking up at odd angles as usual. Hunk was flicking through movie options on the TV.

“Hey, I’m just saying, I admire Tiana’s determination to achieve her dream,” Hunk defended where he was sat on the beanbag chair. “She’s the first Disney princess ever to have a business plan, and a _job_ , for that matter. Plus, she knows how to season her food.”

Pidge sighed. “I mean, I can’t argue with that. But, I mean, _Moana_ , dude. She’s so badass, and the movie doesn’t end with some bullshit romance.”

Hunk gasped, offended, “Tianaveen wasn’t bullshit! They were totally in love!”

“Hey, I’ve got nothing against them, I’m just saying, Moana –”

“Hey, hey, calm down, you guys, they’re both cool,” Lance cut in, raising his hands placatingly. Then he smirked, and added, “Besides, we all know that when it comes to princesses, I’m always the prettiest.” He placed a hand on his hip and fluttered his eyelashes in an exaggerated gesture.

While Pidge and Hunk groaned at his antics, Lance glanced at Keith, who was still standing at the doorway. He was leaning on the frame with his arms crossed, regarding Lance with a slightly amused expression, and was that… _fondness_ in his gaze?

Lance decided Keith was looking a little too complacent for his taste.

Unseen by his friends, who were still complaining, Lance grinned at Keith. Then, he caught his lower lip slightly between his teeth and shot him a wink, toeing the line between playful and flirty.

He could practically hear Keith’s breath hitch, pinpointing the moment that his eyes widened momentarily. But again, Lance didn’t linger, turning away to conceal his satisfaction and leaving Keith to flounder.

He set the cookies down on the coffee table, pretending to be completely oblivious to Keith’s gay panic. Pidge immediately lunged for the plate, stuffing a few cookies in her mouth greedily. She was getting cookie crumbs on her green-and-back sleeveless hoodie, which looked suspiciously similar to one he’d seen Nadia Rizavi wearing the other day, but Lance decided to let that slide.

“We could always, like, _not_ watch a Disney movie,” she suggested around her mouthful.

Lance let out a scandalized gasp. “How could you even _say_ that, Pidgeon!” he exclaimed, snatching the remote from Hunk and ignoring his friend’s protests. “Disney movies are the _foundation_ of our culture! It’s tradition to start movie nights with Disney, especially since our Samurai over here has been deprived of their cinematic masterpiece since childhood!”

He gestured to Keith, who he noticed had perked up a little at the mention of his nickname. Lance had started calling him _Samurai_ ever since he’d seen him wield one of Shiro’s antique swords with the grace and accuracy of a warrior. It had been half-teasing at first, but when his friends had started tossing him fruit and Keith had sliced every one of them clean in half mid-air, fruit ninja style, with deadly precision, for Lance it had become a lot less joking and a lot more… boner inducing.

Ahem. Anyways.

He knew that it was Keith’s favourite of the many nicknames that Lance had bestowed upon him, just as Lance liked it most when Keith referred to him as _Sharpshooter_ , for his awesome archery skills. (To be honest, though, in Lance’s case it wasn’t much of a competition for nicknames, since his only other options were _dumbass_ or _noodle boy_.)

“Oh, whatever,” Pidge was groaning, shifting into an impossibly sprawled position on the armchair. “Just fuckin’ pick something, already, loser.”

“Jeez, you’ve been here like, five minutes and I’m already being attacked,” Lance grumbled, waving a hand in Pidge’s direction. Beckoning to Keith, he gestured at the screen. “Come and pick one you haven’t watched, Keith.”

Coming over to stand next to Lance, Keith watched him flicking through options. Then, “Wait, what about that one? _The Road to El… Dorado_? I don’t think I’ve seen that one.”

A grin spread across Lance’s face. “Keith, my man,” he told him, “You’ve made the right fucking choice.”

Hunk snorted. “Oh, come on, Lance, you only like that movie because of the gay subtext.”

“I mean, you’re not wrong,” Lance admitted, “Like, come on, why does anyone think there’s _anything_ straight about Tulio and Miguel?”

Pidge spoke up, “Doesn’t Tulio literally have a girlfriend?”

“Forced hetero bullshit,” Lance dismissed with a wave of his hand, “Plus, Miguel was like, super jealous of them.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Lance observed Keith’s reaction. The other boy had seemed to be surprised at Lance’s openness at first, but now he was shifting towards a more amused and intrigued expression.

“Are Tulio and Miguel the main characters?” Keith asked.

“Yup,” Lance replied, “And I’m pretty sure they were supposed to be boyfriends of something in the first script.”

“I heard that, too,” Pidge agreed.

“To be honest,” Hunk said, “They were pretty much dating in the actual movie, anyway, from what I remember.”

“Yeah, let’s watch this one,” Keith decided immediately, and the group snickered at how quickly he was sold.

Lance laughed a little more than the rest, placing his hand on Keith’s arm and tracing his fingers down his forearm under the guise of being caught up in the joke. He pretended not to notice the way Keith leaned into the gentle touch, looking at Lance with an oddly pleased expression.

They all settled in and started watching the movie, Keith and Lance sitting next to each other on the sofa. Crossing his legs, Lance allowed his bare knee to rest slightly atop Keith’s thigh, and more than once, caught the other boy staring at his exposed legs with a slight blush on his cheeks.

Part of Lance had hoped Keith may initiate some contact, like moving closer or placing his hand on Lance’s knee, but of course, because it was Keith, he didn’t, and just sat there like the useless gay that he was.

“You know, those two kinda remind me of Keith and Lance,” Hunk commented, gesturing to Miguel and Tulio on the screen.

Lance grinned. “Hey, that’s kind of true,” he realized.

“Yeah, because you’re both idiots.” Pidge spoke up.

“Oh, shut it, Pidgeon, you know you love us,” Lance drawled, leaning over to ruffle her hair. She squirmed out of his grasp with a yelp.

“Who would be who?” Keith wondered, turning to Lance.

“Hm, you’re definitely not as dramatic as Miguel,” Lance said, “But on the other hand, you are as impulsive as him.”

He thought about it for a moment. “Nah, you’re totally Tulio,” Lance conceded, nudging Keith with his shoulder. “You guys have, like, the same sense of humor, and you could never be as optimistic as Miguel.”

“Mm, I would agree, but have you _seen_ the way Tulio acts around Chel?” Keith shook his head, “I would never be like that around a girl.”

“Eh, maybe not around a _girl_ ,” Lance hinted significantly, shooting Keith a wink.

Keith blinked, before grinning a little and letting out a chuckle. “Touché.”

Lance let their eyes meet for a moment, allowing them to exchange a small affectionate smile. Then, Keith frowned a little with a realization, then smirked slightly at Lance.

“I thought you shipped Tulio and Miguel,” Keith pointed out, and Lance stomped down his own satisfied smirk, glad that Keith was finally getting it.

He feigned oblivion, tilting his head. “Well, yeah, I guess I do. What about it, Samurai?” he pushed, subtly shifting his body closer to Keith’s.

Keith blinked, then shook his head and turned away. “Nothing,” he muttered, focusing back on the movie. Again, Lance was a little disappointed at the lack of reaction, but he noticed that Keith’s arm had shifted, the back of his hand now resting against Lance’s knee lightly.

They stayed like that for the rest of the movie.

“Do you guys think Tulio broke up with Chel?”

They’d finished The Road to El Dorado ten minutes ago, and the group were in Lance’s room, Keith sitting on the bed, Hunk in a chair and Pidge cross-legged on his desk. As he always did after their first movie, Lance was getting together all the stuff they needed to do face masks – headbands, hair ties, hand mirrors, and, of course, the masks themselves.

Keith, however, was still hung up on the movie. “I mean, at the end, she kissed him on the cheek, but then he called Miguel his partner literally straight afterwards,” he was musing. “So what does that mean?”

“Oh my god, Keith,” Pidge leaned over and grabbed a pillow from the bed. She threw it at Keith’s face, resulting in a muffled yelp and a disgruntled look. “It’s an _open ending_ , you can pick whatever you like.”

“Yeah, but it’d be nice to know,” Keith retorted, launching the pillow back at her.

It flew over her head as she ducked, and leveled him with an unimpressed look. “Dude, your aim is so shitty.”

“Fuckin’ come over here and say that to me, Gremlin.”

“Please don’t kill each other, I need you guys to taste test my cupcakes for Shay tomorrow,” Hunk complained.

Lance gasped, “Oh yeah, you never finished telling us about that, buddy!” He put some stuff on the desk, tossing some headbands and a mirror onto his bed, and turned to Hunk excitedly. “When did you ask her out? What did she say? You gotta tell us _everything_.”

Hunk laughed abashedly, cheeks flushing slightly. “There’s nothing much to tell, honestly…”

“Oh come one, Hunk,” Pidge huffed, punching his arm.

“Yeah, don’t give me that,” Lance teased, “I know you’re dying to spill, big guy. Actually, you know what, let’s put our masks on first, I wanna give this my full attention.”

Hunk sighed, “Alright, sure,” he conceded, smiling a little.

Coming over to sit on the bed next to Keith, Lance slid a face mask pot across the table to Pidge, who was tying her hair back into tiny adorable pigtails.

Sitting on the bed next to Keith, Lance placed the tub down beside himself and started clipping back his own bangs. Even as short as they were, he didn’t want them getting sticky or greasy, especially when Keith was here and would definitely be paying attention to Lance’s appearance.

“Fuck, these mask things are so hard, I hope I don’t get it in my hair again,” Pidge muttered, checking herself in the mirror to make sure her hair was entirely out of her face.

“If it’s any consolation, yours definitely won’t be as bad as Keith’s,” Hunk offered.

Pidge snorted, “Pfft, that’s barely reassuring, you’ve seen Keith’s masks,”

Lance groaned. “Ugh, I know, right? Keith’s skincare skills are _horrendous_ , his masks are a tragedy,” he complained, gesturing at the boy in question distastefully.

Keith scowled at him, “It’s literally goop. Just because it doesn’t look pretty when I put it on doesn’t mean it won’t work.”

“Keeeith, you never distribute it evenly!” Lance whined, swatting at Keith’s shoulder, “In some places you leave massive gaps on your face with barely anything on it, and in other places you’ll fucking cake it on!”

“Well, excuse me if I’m not good at it since I don’t do it often,” Keith retorted. He folded his arms, despite the amused smirk pulling at his lips. “And why does it even matter so long as it covers my face?”

Hunk and Pidge exchanged an exasperated glance, ignoring the other two in favor of taking out their own tub and starting to apply their own masks carefully.

“‘Why does it even matter’ he says,” Lance lamented dramatically, throwing his head back in despair. “Do you even care about your _skin_ , Keith? Do you even _realize_ how you’re neglecting it? I _mourn_ the fact that you’re ignoring its desperate cries for help.”

Keith snorted, shaking his head. “Whatever, Lance.”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Lance, and he sat up straight. “You know what, Kogane,” he told the other boy. Grabbing him by the arm, he pulled Keith closer so that he was sitting directly in front of him on the bed, eyes wide in surprise, “I’m gonna do your face mask for you, so you can see the difference yourself.”

Keith blinked a few times, taken aback and a little flustered at their sudden proximity. “I –”

“Ah bah bah, no arguments,” Lance cut him off, poking Keith’s chest. He was grinning now. “This is happening, no way around it, mullet. You just gotta sit there and look pretty, I’ll even put your hair back for you.”

He leaned forward and reached around the other boy to grab a headband from behind him. This momentarily brought him close enough for his breath to tickle the other boy’s neck. Lance would be lying if he said he didn’t feel a giddy thrill when Keith jolted, surprised, and his hair brushed against Lance’s cheek a little as he moved his head.

When he pulled back, Keith spluttered, successfully rendered incoherent, and Lance couldn’t resist giving him a smug grin. At that, Keith’s jaw snapped shut, clenching tightly. “I hate you so much,” he muttered.

Lance laughed, “No you don’t,” he scoffed as he put the headband behind Keith’s ears and used it to push Keith’s bangs away from his face.

With nothing to obstruct Keith’s features, he looked unusually vulnerable and exposed. Lance wasn’t used to seeing so much of his forehead, and without so many shadows over his face, he seemed to come into focus. Everything seemed sharper, and Lance had to stop for a moment to take him in.

Keith’s jawline was sharp and angular, and his pale skin was unfairly clear, given his complete lack of a skincare routine. His nose had such a gentle slope, a slight bump in the middle where it had been broken a few times in some of the many fights Keith had gotten into over the years. His face was shaped beautifully, achingly handsome.

When Lance met Keith’s eyes, he found them already gazing into Lance’s own, almost midnight black, but tinged with purple. An absent smile was tugging at Keith’s lips, and it occurred to Lance that he was probably taking Lance in, in exactly the same way, and his stomach swooped.

Keith let out a breath. “Nah, I don’t,” he finally replied softly, and ok, how had Lance not noticed this shit before? Keith was making his feelings so obvious that being hit with a fucking bulldozer would have been more subtle. Lance must have been really caught up in his own insecurity not to have seen it.

A little shakily, Lance returned Keith’s smile before reaching behind himself to grab the pot that contained one of his favorite face masks.

As he turned, he caught Pidge and Hunk giving him a strange, questioning look. Smirking slightly, he shot his friends a wink out of Keith’s sight, and their eyes went wide before they exchanged a disbelieving look, which almost made Lance snicker.

He saw Pidge mouthing _no fucking way_ to Hunk, before he turned back to Keith with some of the product on his fingers and a grin on his lips.

“What’s so funny?” Keith questioned, brows furrowed.

“Nothing, just remembered something,” Lance dismissed, beckoning Keith closer, “C’mere, man.”

Keith shuffled a little closer, resting his forearms on his knees where he was sitting cross-legged on the bed.

Now, perhaps Lance hadn’t thought this through, because he was beginning to have a bi panic. Yes, he now knew that Keith liked him, which definitely made this a lot easier, but that didn’t change the fact that Keith was _mercilessly_ attractive.

For one, Keith had discarded his flannel, and the white muscle shirt he was wearing may not be as thin as Lance’s own blue tank, but _damn_ , it really left little to the imagination. Lance didn’t need another fucking reminder that Keith definitely had abs, despite his lithe appearance, but apparently he was getting one. And his arms, _fuck_. There was literally nothing covering them, they were lean and firm and they were _right there_.

His crisis wasn’t helped by the fact that when Keith leaned forward, he furrowed his eyebrows a little, making a little adorable crease on his forehead. He tipped his chin forward, endearingly expectant, and Lance was getting the sudden urge to pepper kisses all over the other boys face, and maybe run his hands over his body a little

How the fuck could someone be so cute and hot at the same time? How did Keith just _do_ that?

Lance shook his head to snap himself out of it. He was supposed to be seducing Keith, not the other way round, dammit.

Gently, he reached forward with his free hand to take Keith’s chin between his forefinger and thumb, tipping his face towards the light. Lance didn’t bother fighting down his own blush when he noted the flush tingeing Keith’s cheekbones and the way his throat moved as he swallowed.

With tentative fingers, he began to spread the mask across Keith’s skin, trying to be as tender as possible. He could feel Keith’s eyes on him, trailing over his features. The other boy was ever so slightly leaning into his touch, and Lance was surprised at how _intimate_ the whole thing felt. Their faces were inches apart, and Keith seemed to be drinking in their proximity, allowing his eyes to roam freely across Lance’s face as if he was trying to count every freckle.

It was… A lot. Lance kept his mouth clamped shut, not wanting to start rambling and show how flustered he was becoming. His only comfort was that Keith was definitely in the same boat.

When he was finally finished, Lance sat back on his heels, studying the result. It was way better than when Keith did his own mask, that was for sure. Whereas Keith’s masks were usually clumpy and uneven, Lance had spread it cleanly across his face in one neat, smooth layer.

Smiling triumphantly, Lance took the hand-mirror from beside him and held it up for Keith. “Well?”

Keith studied his face in the mirror. He seemed to be satisfied with what he saw, letting out a hum of approval. “Not bad, Sharpshooter.”

Preening under the praise, Lance shot Keith a finger gun. “Heh, only for you, Samurai.” This brought a surprised but pleased smile to Keith’s face.

Briefly, he considered letting Keith do his mask too, but quickly dismissed the idea with an internal shudder. The neglect to his skin wouldn’t be worth it.

After they all finished, the four lounged on Lance’s bed, waiting for the masks to be ready to wash off.

Rolling onto his belly and bracing his elbows on the bed, Lance gave Hunk a poke in the side. “Okay, come on, Loverboy, tell us your story!”

It couldn’t be seen under the face mask, but Lance was fairly sure Hunk was blushing. “It’s really no big deal, I just saw her at the coffee shop on Thursday morning, and… I asked her out, and she said yes. Not much else to it.”

“Oh, is that why you guys kept making eyes at each other in class?” Keith realized.

Spluttering, Hunk protested, “I wasn’t– we weren’t _making eyes at each other_ , come on!”

“They really were,” Keith told them with a smirk, “Hunk kept spacing out with this dopey smile.”

“I did not!” Hunk objected. 

“Hate to say this, man,” Pidge commented, placing her hands behind her head, “but you two are disgustingly in love. I’d be willing to bet that you did.”

“Come on, that’s an exaggeration,” Hunk tried, “I didn’t have a _dopey smile_ , it was a totally regular smile. W-well, a regular smile for someone who just asked out their crush, who said yes, and who they have a date with in a few days and who just so happens to be in their class and looks kinda beautiful that day…” Hunk trailed off, and if he wasn’t blushing before, he most definitely was now.

“Oh my god, Hunk, you have to give us more details, man!” Lance pressed, scooting towards his friend. “Was she working when you asked her? Was she in her barista uniform? Ooh, did she have on that purple eyeliner that you love so much?”

Hunk hid his face behind his hands, as the others started to pile in.

“Was she wearing that yellow sweater you leant her?”

“Did she recite your usual order by memory?”

“Were you so overcome with emotion that you proposed right there on the spot?”

“Did you swoon into her strong, quarterback arms?”

Letting out a long suffering groan, Hunk flopped back on the bed, and the others erupted with giggles.

“You guys are the worst,” he complained.

Lance grinned, smacking his side playfully, “Aww, don’t be like that, Hunk.” The other boy only groaned again in response.

“Ah, young love,” Pidge lamented, pretending to stare off into the distance. “It’s a wonder that I don’t puke every time I witness this shit.”

“Oh yeah?” Keith spoke up, his voice becoming dangerously sly, “If ‘this shit’ disgusts you so much, wanna tell us whose hoodie you’re wearing?”

Lance let out an involuntary snort. Oh, he went there.

Slowly, Pidge turned to Keith, her gaze murderous. Keith wasn’t deterred, donning a smug expression and looking pointedly at the green-and-black sleeveless hoodie that currently hung a little loose on Pidge’s small body. Lance and Hunk struggled to hold in their chortling.

“I’ll kill you,” she whispered.

And at that, the group dissolved into laughter.

After they’d washed their masks off, the four went back into the living room. Then came the very important discussion of what to watch for the rest of the evening.

“Hey, what about WALL-E?” Hunk suggested from where he had flopped down on the beanbag chair. “That’s a classic. And WALL-E’s so cute!”

“I think I’ve already watched that with Shiro, though,” Keith said. “It’s that one with the blobby people, right?”

Hunk looked offended. “How is _that_ the main thing you remember, and not the cute robots?”

“Well, I, for one, think we should watch Tangled,” Lance barged in. “It’s a goddamn masterpiece. Mainly because Flynn Rider.”

“Ugh, please not another Disney movie, guys.” Pidge groaned. She had reclaimed the armchair, which was fine with Lance, since that meant he got to share the sofa with Keith again. “I mean, I get it, I love them too, but _seriously_ , a little variety? Why don’t we watch, like, Star Wars, or something?”

“I’ve never seen a Star Wars movie,” Keith said quietly.

“What!?” Lance all but shrieked, rounding on Keith, who recoiled a little.

“Dude, you’ve _never_ seen a single Star Wars movie?” Hunk exclaimed, equally surprised. “How is that even possible?”

“Yeah, I knew you were uncultured, but what the fuck, Keith?” Pidge added, shaking her head. 

Crossing his arms, Keith frowned. “Come on, plenty of people have never seen Star Wars,” he protested. “It’s just a movie.”

“Blasphemy!” Lance bemoaned, clutching his chest. “I thought we raised you better than this, Keith! Where did I go wrong?”

“Oh, quit being dramatic,” Keith dismissed him, “And you didn’t _raise_ me, I’m literally older than all of you –”

“Ok, nope, we gotta fix this,” Lance decided, ignoring Keith. Snatching up the remote, he began to mess with the TV. “We’re having a Star Wars marathon, right now.”

“Aren’t there, like, eight movies?” Hunk piped up.

“Yeah, it’s late, there’s no way we’ll be able to get through the first two, let alone the whole fucking series,” Pidge agreed.

Lance waved his hand dismissively, “Then we’re watching whatever we can,” he told them, “No more arguments, we’re doing this. It is our duty to impart our wisdom on young Keefers, here.” He grinned, plopping himself down on the sofa next to Keith and reaching over to tap him on the nose with a “boop!”

Keith momentarily went cross-eyed trying to watch him do so, and the sight was so adorable that Lance had to stop himself from cooing.

“Alright fine,” Keith conceded, although Lance noticed that he hadn’t really protested much.

Pidge and Hunk didn’t have too many complaints either. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen them,” Pidge said, “Matt used to be super obsessed when we were younger, though.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember, dude,” Hunk laughed, “He was a total space nerd.”

“And he still is,” Pidge smirked, “He has these posters of Leia in his old room at our house that he _refuses_ to let us take down.”

Lance snorted, “What a dork.”

“Lance, you literally have glow in the dark stars stuck on your ceiling, you can’t talk,” Keith pointed out.

“Shh, the movie’s starting,” Lance hushed playfully, quickly pressing play on A New Hope.

Shaking his head, Keith shot him a fond look before turning to the TV to watch the opening credits of the movie.

Lance was about to settle in next to him, when he decided to test his boundaries a little bit more.

Turning sideways, he leaned back to lay against the armrest and casually swung legs up to drape them across Keith’s lap. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Keith closely for his reaction, but the other boy only started a little, before smiling affectionately and resting his hands tentatively on Lance’s legs.

Keith’s touch was gentle and his hands were warm, and Lance found himself sighing with contentment and letting his body go lax.

Sinking back into the cushions, Lance smiled softly, trying to turn his attention to the movie where the beginning credits were being displayed.

The first movie passed without much event. They’d all began to feel a little drowsy as it progressed, since it was getting close to midnight, so there hadn’t been much chatter during the movie.

Lance had set it so that the next movies would play automatically, so he didn’t bother to try and stay focused, and instead, allowed his mind to wander, letting his thoughts be lulled into something more quiet. Occasionally, Keith would brush his thumbs over the bare skin of Lance’s shins, and Lance let himself bask the affectionate gesture. It was sort of soothing.

At some point, Lance ended up dozing off, and when he awoke, the room was silent save for the TV, still playing, and the sound of quiet snoring.

Pidge was curled up in a ball on the armchair, sound asleep. Hunk was sprawled on the beanbag chair, dead to the world and snoring softly, a line of drool trickling from his open mouth.

Keith, however, was wide awake next to him, his eyes still fixed to the screen where Empire Strikes Back was still playing. His arms were still resting in Lance’s ankles where he’d put his feet on Keith’s lap, and when he sensed Lance stirring, he glanced over at him with a little smile, which Lance returned as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Keith turned back to the screen. It was endearing how invested he’d become in the movie. Usually, he’d be asleep by now, along with the rest of his friends, but now he was watching intently, taken by every scene. Lance couldn’t blame him, he was watching the best star wars movie in the series.

Quietly, Lance took his feet off of Keith’s lap and got up from the sofa to grab some blankets for his friends.

He came back with his arms overflowing with sheets, and set about gently wrapping them around Pidge and Hunk. Hunk would make do with one blanket – he ran a little hot anyway, and didn’t usually need many. He tucked it around his friend’s sleeping form. Pidge, however, he wrapped in three of them, since she always loved to bury herself in a cocoon of blankets.

Once he’d done that, Lance took the remaining large purple blanket with him back to where Keith was still sitting, immersed in the movie, and sat back down next to him. Carefully, he draped the blanket across the both of them and, instead of resting his legs on Keith’s lap like before, Lance shuffled closer and placed his head on Keith’s shoulder.

He felt Keith stiffen slightly beside him. Then, he slowly relaxed into him, hesitantly resting his own head atop Lance’s.

Lance smiled in gratification. He nestled closer to the other boy with a contented sigh and turned his attention back to the screen, where Leia and Han were playing out what was arguably their most famous scene.

_“I love you,”_ Leia was saying, her voice laced with emotion.

Han looked her dead in the eye, and replied, _“I know.”_

At this Keith gasped, his body tensing. “Why the fuck would he say that?” he exclaimed, recoiling slightly. “They just kissed, she just told him she _loved_ him, what the fuck?”

Lance snickered at his reaction, grabbing the remote and pausing the film so that they wouldn’t miss anything.

“Well, yeah, dude,” he shrugged, leaning into him, “He thinks he’s gonna _die_ , he’s not gonna say it back and leave her with that. Think about it. You’d do the same. Heck, _I’d_ do the same.”

Keith paused for a moment, then snorted. “Really? You’d do the same?”

“Uh, obviously,” Lance replied, “Me and Solo would totally have, like, the exact same train of thought.”

“You’re literally nothing like him.” Keith scoffed, shaking his head.

Lance sighed, “Yeah, you’re kinda right about that,” he mused. “It’s actually probably _you_ that’s a total Han Solo.”

“Huh?” He couldn’t see Keith’s face from their position, but he imagined the other boy’s brows furrowing like they always did when he was confused. “How?”

“I mean, you’re like, that classic rebel loner,” Lance told him with a chuckle. “ _And_ you’ve got a terrifying yet adorable non-human companion,” he added, his voice beginning to take on a more dramatic tone, “who’s been your only solace in this _cruel_ world for _so long_.”

He felt Keith chuckle at his ridiculousness. “Are you talking about Kosmo or Shiro?”

“Could be either, actually,” Lance pondered, “Not a day goes by when I don’t wonder whether the gods actually managed to create a human being as flawless as Shiro, or if he’s some perfect clone sent down by aliens to seduce mankind.”

“Ugh, _please_ stop talking about my brother like that,” Keith grimaced, and Lance suddenly realized something. Keith had always gotten annoyed at Lance’s constant flirty remarks about other people, but it was dawning on Lance that there was definitely a slight bitter undertone to Keith’s remarks, his body stiffening beside Lance even now.

Face hidden from Keith’s view, Lance allowed himself a smirk. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t realized.

“Aww, someone jealous, Keithy-boy?” he drawled teasingly, “I mean, I can’t blame ya. Who wouldn’t want a piece of _this_?”

He extracted a hand from the blankets to shoot a finger gun beneath his own _gorgeous_ face. He vaguely remembered Pidge telling him that the gesture meant lesbian in sign language, which made him smile a little.

Keith seemed to pause blankly for a moment before he let out a weak laugh and, to Lance’s dismay, pulled away slightly from where they’d been leaning against each other.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Lance.” He was obviously trying to sound nonchalant, but Lance heard the strain in his voice, and he was avoiding his gaze.

Lance frowned. Keith must have thought he was joking, or making fun of him. Lance fought against the compulsion to reach out to the other boy again, mourning the loss of Keith’s warm body against his.

Instead, he smiled at Keith softly and let his fondness for him pour into his gaze. “Hmm. Maybe what you need, Han Solo,” he told Keith gently, “is to find your Leia so he can break down those walls and melt that cold, dead heart of yours.” Lance’s words seemed light, but his tone was warm and sincere.

There was a pause, and Keith spoke, in a murmur so low that Lance didn’t think he’d even meant to speak out loud, “I already have.”

Oh.

_Oh._

This was suddenly getting a lot deeper than Lance had expected. Keith… _really_ liked him, didn’t he?

Lance swallowed the urge to squeal or wrap Keith in a hug or maybe even jump up and down a bit. Carefully, he reached out under the blanket to take Keith’s hand, noting the hitch in the other boy’s breath when he tangled their fingers together. Keith turned to look at him, blinking confusedly.

“You have?” Lance prompted, squeezing his hand and offering a smile. He didn’t want Keith to think he was making fun of him too much, but the teasing lilt still made its way into his voice. “Do I know him?”

There was a brief pause, Keith’s adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed thickly.

His eyes scanned Lance’s face and he replied, almost absently, “Yeah. Pretty well, actually.”

At that, Lance couldn’t hold back a laugh. He shifted closer to Keith, leaning against his side again, chuckling, and brought their joint hands to rest on his lap. Keith was blinking in confusion, his mouth curling in slight amusement as he regarded Lance beside him.

Once his laughter died down, Lance ran a hand through his hair and turned to Keith.

“Keith, dude, I gotta tell you something,” he admitted, grinning at the other boy. “I heard you talking to Hunk and Pidge earlier.”

Keith stiffened almost imperceptibly next to him. “When you say earlier…” he said slowly, “What does that mean? I haven’t spoken to them alone all evening. You mean like, yesterday or something?”

Lance snorted, “No, I definitely mean today, Mullet,” he confirmed. “Before you even got here, actually.”

“Before we –” Keith inhaled sharply in realization. “In the car… the phone.”

“Yup,” Lance drawled with a shit-eating grin. “ _The phone_.”

“Oh,” Lance saw Keith swallow again. “How much did you…”

“Not everything,” Lance said casually, tracing circles on the back of Keith’s hand. “Quite a bit, though. I definitely heard enough about your _feelings_ for a certain someone…” he shot Keith a playful grin, “I must say, I was pretty surprised. You hid it well, Samurai. Though, I am kinda irresistible, so maybe it isn’t _too_ incredible.”

The other boy was silent for a moment.

“Well, fuck,” he finally said, making Lance snicker lightly. “I’m sorry, Lance, I was honestly never going to say anything. I don’t want to make you… uncomfortable or anything,” he averted his eyes, face scrunching anxiously.

It took a moment for Lance to process what he was hearing. Then he gasped loudly.

“Oh my god,” he exclaimed, “You think I’m going to reject you.”

Keith blinked. “Wha–”

Lance turned his entire body to face Keith, dislodging the blanket, and grabbed him by the shoulders with a disbelieving laugh. “Holy shit, Keith– you actually think I’m going to reject you, what the fuck?”

Keith spluttered indignantly. “I– Why would I think you _wouldn’t?_ ”

“Dude, I’ve been flirting with you the _entire evening!_ ” Lance told him incredulously.

Keith just blinked, his brow furrowing.

“ _Keith_ ,” Lance whined, poking him in the chest, “Seriously? I’ve literally had the most _disgustingly obvious_ crush on you since high school! And I’ve been dropping hints since you guys got here, how did you not get that?”

Keith floundered for a moment, before managing to say, “I barely even remember you from high school?” 

“ _Exactly_!” Lance stressed, squeezing the other boy’s shoulders in emphasis. “ _You_ barely remember _me_ , but when we came here I literally recognized the back of your head from _across campus_ , because in Math class I used to sit behind you and do _nothing_ but stare at that _stupid mullet_ for the whole fucking hour!” 

Lance took a minute to regain his breath after having spoken so rapidly. Keith’s eyebrows were raised in shock. 

“So…” Keith stared at him, trying to process everything. “You… like me?” he spoke tentatively, as if he still couldn’t fathom what he was hearing. 

Lance sighed in fondness and exasperation. “ _Yes_ , you idiot! I like you,” he poked Keith in the chest again, just because he could, “And you like me.” 

Keith blinked, and then an expression of awe began to spread across his face. His midnight eyes went wide with wonder, his mouth forming a tiny, shocked smile. 

Lance couldn’t help but laugh a little at the sight, brushing his thumbs over Keith’s shoulders affectionately. 

“So,” Keith said, “We… like each other.” He brought a hand up to rest it tentatively against Lance’s hip, giving him a little smirk, and Lance suddenly became aware of the position he’d put them in. 

He was straddling one of Keith’s legs, his knee between his thighs and their faces inches apart. Now that Lance had registered this, every point of contact between them burned – Keith’s thigh between his legs, his own hands on the other boy’s bare shoulders, Keith’s light touch of fingertips on his hip. 

A steady flush spread across Lance’s cheeks as he realized that if he leaned forward a little, their lips would brush. 

“Yeah,” Lance breathed, unable to stop his eyes from flicking down to Keith’s mouth, “What are you gonna do about it, Samurai?” 

Keith’s breath hitched. Pressing his fingers more insistently into Lance’s hip, Keith tugged him closer until he was fully in his lap, straddling his lap. Lance swallowed as, with his other hand, Keith reached out to cup his neck, pressing his thumb against his pulse point to feel the erratic thumping of his heartbeat. 

Keith’s pupils dilated. He raked his eyes over Lance’s face – his short, fluffy bangs, the ocean blue of his eyes, the curved slope of his nose. 

Then his gaze came to focus on Lance’s lips, slightly parted, where his breaths were coming out shallow and uneven. Keith’s gaze was dark and heavy with intent. 

Lance wasn’t sure who moved first, but then the space between them was disappearing and their lips were colliding in a searing kiss. At first it was sloppy, too rushed and off center, but then Lance tilted his head and moved his mouth in such a way that had Keith parting his lips and sighing into his mouth. 

It was intense, it was heated, it was everything Lance had imagined and more. Lance’s fingers were tangled in the hair at Keith’s nape, his other hand dragging down his chest and gripping his side. He was dizzy with want, drunk on the feeling of Keith’s tongue licking into his mouth, his hand cradling his face so tenderly, his fingers pressing into his hipbone and holding them flush against each other. 

Keith caught Lance’s lower lip between his teeth, tugging it bruisingly, and Lance couldn’t hold back a whimper. His grip on Keith’s hair tightened, twisting between fisted fingers, resulting in a muffled groan of appreciation from the other boy. This sparked an interest in Lance’s gut, heat pooling. 

Shit, they had to stop before this went too far – Lance was becoming dizzy with desire, and their friends were _literally_ in the room with them. 

With great reluctance, Lance forced himself to pull away, breathing heavily, Keith momentarily chasing the taste of his mouth as they parted. 

When they separated, lips swollen and faces flushed, they looked at each other for a moment before Lance huffed out a breathless laugh. 

“Woah,” was all he could say, busy cataloging the memory of Keith like this, hair mussed and mouth bitten red. 

“Yeah,” Keith agreed. He seemed to be doing the same thing, brushing his thumb across Lance’s cheekbone with a soft smile. “‘Woah’ would be accurate.” 

At that, they both laughed, although there wasn’t anything particularly funny about the situation. It was a giddy kind of laughter, a laughter that came from shared happiness. 

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders and pulled him with him as he flopped backwards so that they were laying on the sofa, Keith on top of him between his legs. The other boy buried his smile in Lance’s neck, breathing him in. 

“So…” Keith murmured against his skin, “Do you wanna, like… go out sometime?” 

Lance chuckled, tracing circles with his fingers between Keith’s shoulder blades. “Obviously,” he replied fondly, “It’s a date, cariño.” 

He felt Keith’s smile widen against his neck, and he curled his arms closer around Lance. 

“Good,” he mumbled, before trying to stifle a yawn. 

“Aw, someone sleepy?” Lance cooed as Keith nestled into his chest. 

“Mm, maybe a little,” Keith admitted, sighing with contentment. 

He realized that in their distraction, they’d dropped their blanket on the floor. After reaching down and grabbing it with one hand, he draped it over the both of them. 

They settled together, breathing in sync. 

Lance felt his eyes begin to droop, pulled in by the comfort of Keith’s warmth, seeping into him from the weight of the other boy on top of him. 

“Hey, Keith,” he said quietly, around a yawn, “Guess what?” 

Keith hummed in question. 

Smiling a little, Lance whispered, “I like you.” 

He felt Keith’s answering chuckle through his chest. “I like you, too,” he responded, voice just as gentle. 

Like they were sharing a secret, something special, close to the heart. Which, Lance realized, they were. He wanted to clutch that secret tightly to his chest and never let it go, for fear that it would evaporate within his grasp. 

But really, Lance was getting too tired to keep himself awake. He didn’t want to close his eyes, didn’t want to in case he awoke to find his arms cold and empty, the secrets that they had shared under the cover of darkness disappearing as the sun rose. 

As his eyelids grew heavier and his breaths deeper, Lance tightened his grip on Keith, his hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. 

“Stay with me?” he breathed, his voice barely audible. 

Keith shifted slightly, and Lance felt the slight pressure of lips brushing his collarbone, gentle, reassuring. 

“Of course,” came Keith’s steady reply, the conviction in his voice like a promise, an oath. 

The tension seeped from Lance’s body, and he let out a sigh. He allowed his fingers to loosen, letting his arms rest gently around Keith, and his eyes slipped closed. 

When Lance awoke, dim sunlight filtering through the blinds, it was to a gentle kiss on his forehead and a warm body entangled with his. 

He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and took in the sight of Keith gazing at him, a fond smile tugging at his lips, his eyes half lidded and glowing violet in the sunlight. His hair was ruffled, messier than usual. They had switched positions in their sleep, and were lying on their sides, facing one another. 

“Hey,” Keith murmured, voice low and rough from sleep. His smile never wavered. 

Lance grinned back at him. “Hey,” he replied, taking Keith’s hand and intertwining their fingers. 

And when Keith leaned in for a lingering kiss, which Lance gladly reciprocated, despite their morning breath, butterflies erupted in Lance’s chest. He felt like he might burst from happiness. 

Never in his life had he been so glad to have overheard a conversation. 

**Author's Note:**

> This totally wasn't a way for me to procrastinate working on my unpublished multi chapter fic shut up
> 
> Fun fact: originally I planned for Lance to just throw himself at Keith and start making out with him as soon as he got there, which would have made this fic a lot shorter, but I realized that Lance is a little shit and would never let Keith off that easily lmao
> 
> Please leave comments! Please don’t be afraid to absolutely beat me to death with criticism, I’m a big girl, I can take it, and I want actual feedback, so don’t hold back? xxx
> 
> [My tumblr](https://kosmo-mckogane.tumblr.com/)


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